


lift us back to the sky and the world above

by jeongsa



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, F/F, this au is my self indulgent baby, this is going to be a wild ride
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-27
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-06-17 04:17:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15453180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeongsa/pseuds/jeongsa
Summary: the unexpected terrifies jeongyeon. sana is the catalyst.





	lift us back to the sky and the world above

**korea**

**2002**

**7/7**  
  
_**\---**_

Sana felt a tingling in her tiny toes, legs, tummy and head before the light consumed the capacity of her body.

 

It began alike to the waking of a deep slumber, overwhelming exhaustion paired with aching limbs to match - her eyelids could barely stay open, sealed tight with the weight of a brick like when she’s having naptime at daycare. It’s where she was, before, when she asked to lie in the sick room as she felt the sensation prickling at the soles of her feet.

 

Initially, she situated herself on the bed waiting for the pins and needles to fade as she was told to do, _sit_. In turn, they became more intense in sifting into her veins and sending a vague buzz through the surface of her skin, lifting the hairs to stand on end. Instinct ordered her to close her eyes as she faded.

 

Sana listened to the woman on duty scream in horror at the doorframe as she watched the particles of her skin disappear.

 

Then she was _there_ , in another room - what was felt to be a dream scenario where everything had a soft filter covering what was real to make it seem prettier. Eyes forced open, she was able to form vision after the dizziness in her blinking, and what was left of her consciousness caused a warmth in her chest to spread to the top of her head, cheeks hot.

 

It felt as if she was born for this dream, whatever _this_ dream is, and that the day had finally come to fulfil it.

 

The first thing she noticed was the immediate drop in temperature and exposure of the cold to her skin. Instead of rationally questioning where her clothes disappeared to, she giggled and ran to pick out the pink fairy dress peeking from the lid across the other side of the room.

 

Painted murals of wild animals on the walls enclosed disproportionately small furniture along with tables sprawled with pencils & crayons, and the overwhelming sweet, chemical scent of the floor cleaner embraced Sana’s senses. It was another daycare centre, but with no children to be found playing inside. A vast space with no voices clouded Sana with a loneliness - maybe she didn’t like this dream after all.

 

Sana ignored the feeling and chose to gape through the window closeby. A distraction was quickly spotted upon placing her palms atop of the glass and pressing her nose into the pane. A small, slowly moving figure in the distance rapidly piqued interest and she was compelled to venture outside.

 

Her mind registered exactly where the door to the exit was as if the entire building was mapped out in her head, pushing through it to the outdoor playing area. Another caregiver, different to her own preschool's posed in a red uniform, ignorant to the small child that was running in the grass with the wind in her hair.

 

The girl Sana discovered from inside was surrounded by sand in a pit, red planks separating the entity from the ground. Its size enveloped the girl’s presence. Her mid-length hair fell into her face as she shoveled the dirt into the mould and only Sana’s feet scuffing against the wood surrounding the pit could've disturbed her immersion in the task.

 

The girl looked at her once, then twice with more confusion than the first. Sana’s excited grin was particularly manic, and the girl craned her neck to the side. “Who are you?”

 

“Sana!” Sana enthusiastically introduced herself, crouching to the girl’s level to speak on equal terms - it’s how she thought people should make friends. Sana didn't have many of those back at home, so she smiled a little brighter. “What are you making?”

 

“Nothing,” The girl was blunt, continuing to shovel sand into the bucket - then aimlessly tipping it out once she was finished patting it down. Her next move was dipping her fingers into the sand, poking holes somewhat aggressively and aimlessly. “You’re wearing Momo’s dress, you know.”

 

“Momo?” Sana asked. She didn't understand who Momo was.

 

“It’s Momo’s,” The girl repeated, a little irritated. “It’s pink...her favourite colour, and you’re wearing it.”

 

“Oh,” Sana looked down at the sparkly tulle skirt attachment and played with the glittered hem. “But it was in the dress-up box. Anyone can wear it!”

 

With the girl grunting as her dissatisfied response, Sana concluded that her new friend wasn't particularly good at communicating with other people. Sana found it odd that there was little to no appreciation when she attempted to be friendly, too, by adding a handful of sand to the mould with her. Sana moved back to watch her play from a small distance that she clearly needed.

 

“Why are you alone?” Sana tried to ask another question in place of voicing her disappointment at being rejected. “Where are your friends?”

 

Another puzzled look was shared by the girl, like it was expected for Sana to just understand. “They’ve gone home. Why are _you_ alone?”

 

Sana hadn't even given it a single thought, so she answered simply, “I woke up here."

 

"Right," A sigh of resignation sounding far too adult for a six-year-old followed. “Well... I was supposed to go home an hour ago.”

 

“An _hour_?” Sana’s eyes widened in worry. “Where’s your Mum?!”

 

The girl unceremoniously stuck the handheld tool into the sand at this question, hard, and Sana flinched backwards slightly. The hair fell back into the girls’ face again as she stopped the motion, covering the redness in her full cheeks but not enough for Sana to not see it. 

 

“She’s working,” The girl quietly replied after a moment of silence, embarrassed, and Sana began to comprehend as to why the girl didn’t really want to talk.

 

The girl soon returned to her routine of placing sand into the red bucket and stiffly throwing it back, pretending no discussion occurred. Over Sana’s shoulder, the caregiver was oblivious to how obviously sad the poor girl was, and it made Sana angry at the fact she wasn't genuinely supervising or attempting to help cheer her up.

 

_Why doesn't she care?_

 

Sana badly wanted to tell the girl that her mother is stupid, but it wasn't a nice thing to say, and her own mother taught that if you can’t say something nice then you shouldn't be saying it at all.

 

The girl, who Sana discovered to have tears prickling behind the wafts of hair covering her eyes lifted her chin in bewilderment as Sana leant down into the sand with the palm of her hand. She encircled the girl, leaving a small amount of space for Sana to sit back down when she was finished. Settling back onto her knees once the mission was accomplished, she rubbed the remaining dust from her fingers and under her nails.

 

The girl stared in shock. "What are you doing?"

 

"This," Sana stubbornly gestured to the circle she'd made, then crossed her arms. “Is our circle. We're going to stay in here until your Mum soon comes to pick you up, okay?”

 

Sana remained true to her word, sitting quietly as the girl peacefully continued her task when the subject was over in their silent agreement to end the discussion. Tentatively, after a short while, the girl abashedly offered Sana a plastic reindeer cookie cutter from her side, holding it out to arms length and shying away from eye contact. Sana grinned at the visible jolt in their hands when they touched. 

 

A short time later, the girl’s Father instead called from the distance, wearing a white shirt and checkered pants with his arms wide open for an embrace. Sana remained still, a miracle as the girl immediately dropped all activity they shared together to sprint across the yard to her Father, finally smiling, finally happy.

 

Sana fondly spectated the happy scene, and the funny sensation she first felt in her body returned, beginning in her feet then transcending to the tip of her skull.

 

The girl was thrilled to show Sana her father, show her that someone finally came to collect her after all of that time waiting, maybe to brag a little bit or show off too. She asked her Father if she could wait a moment to say goodbye, but as she turned back, there was nothing to be found but a flurry of tulle and pink polyester she’d sworn she watched glide to the ground from thin air out of the corner of her eye.

 

Her father merely patted her head as they left, mouthing apologetically to the caregiver, _‘A good imagination, our Jeongyeonie has._ ”

 

 _Imagination_ was an incriminating word.With her eyes cast back as her Father pulled her along to the carpark, she realised it didn't matter what he thought - Jeongyeon _knew_  she was there, and there was no forgetting of the feeling in Sana's fingertips, crackling like sparks of electricity. 

 

The following afternoon at lunchtime, Momo wailed that her favourite costume was itchy and plastered with sand as she slipped it on over her clothes when wishing to play fairies and pirates as they usually would. Jeongyeon hadn't failed to notice that the infamous Sana she met was missing all day, too. Upon searching every small face in the centre to match the profile of the girl she’d encountered the day before, she couldn't find a single trace of her existence.

 

_("Sa-na?" A different caregiver distorted her features, perplexed upon Jeongyeon's peculiar question, butchering the foreign pronunciation. "A 'Sa-na' isn't registered here, at least not that I know of... Are you quite sure that's the right name?")_

 

Slipping the elastic patch onto her eye, Jeongyeon refused to register the churning of her stomach to display on her face and smartly, she kept her mouth shut.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> i'm at @jeongyeonation on twitter!! this is crossposted to my aff @jeongyeons


End file.
